惊异 (jīng yì) — astonished, astounded | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A written/literary adjective meaning 'astonished, astounded' — stronger and more formal than the everyday 惊讶. Typically used with 感到 or as an adverbial ∼地.

adjective

astonishedastounded

Examples

，惊异。
Tā tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, fēi cháng jīng yì.
He was very astonished upon hearing this news.
惊异，。
Tā jīng yì dì fā xiàn, zì jǐ de huà dé le dì yī míng.
She was amazed to discover that her painting won first place.
惊异。
Wǒ men dōu duì tā de xíng wéi gǎn dào jīng yì.
We were all astonished at his behavior.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

惊jīngsurprise

异yìastonishment

惊 “surprise” and 异 “astonishment” together describe being greatly amazed.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄京惊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng惊jīng

Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 異; 异 is its simplified writing.

田共異

田田tián
共共gòng

The traditional form 異 depicts a person with a mask 田 over the face, so the face looks different. The simplified 异 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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